Big Maple Leaf
{{short description|Canadian large gold coin}}
{{Infobox coin
| Country = Canada
| Denomination = Big Maple Leaf
| Value = {{Val|1000000}}
| Unit = Canadian dollar
| Mass = 100,000
| Gold_troy_oz = 3,215
| Diameter = 530
| Mintage = 5
| Edge =
| Composition = 999.99/1000 gold
| Years of Minting = 1
| Mint marks =
| Obverse = Obverse Big Maple Leaf.jpg
| Obverse Design = Effigy of Queen Elizabeth II
| Obverse Designer = Susanna Blunt
| Obverse Design Date = 2003
| Reverse =
| Reverse Design = Hand-polished stylized maple leaf
| Reverse Designer = Stanley Witten
| Reverse Design Date =
}}
The Big Maple Leaf (BML) is a $1 million (CAD) gold coin weighing {{convert|100|kg|lb}} (3,215 troy ounces). A set of five{{Cite news |date=January 10, 2019 |title=Giant gold coin trial opens in Berlin |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-46821706}} of these coins was produced by the Royal Canadian Mint (RCM) in 2007, at their Ottawa facility where the first BML produced remains in storage.
The Big Maple Leaf was recognized by the Guinness World Records in 2007 not only for its status as the world's biggest gold coin but also for its unparalleled gold purity of 99.999 per cent.{{Cite web |title=All You Need To Know About The Largest Gold Coins Minted |url=https://thereserve.sg/articles/all-you-need-to-know-about-the-largest-gold-coins-minted |access-date=2023-07-13 |website=The Reserve |language=en}}
{{As of|March 2017}}, the market value of a single Big Maple Leaf had reached approximately $4 million (USD).{{cite web|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2017/03/27/europe/german-coin-stolen-trnd/index.html|title=200-lb gold coin worth estimated $4 million is stolen from German museum|website=CNN|first=Donie|last=O'Sullivan| author-link = Donie O'Sullivan (journalist) |date=27 March 2017|access-date=28 March 2017}} On 27 March 2017, one of the coins was stolen from a Berlin museum.
The Big Maple Leaf remained the largest gold coin ever minted until 2011, when the 1 tonne (1000 kg) Australian Gold Nugget ("Gold Kangaroo") was minted.{{Cite web|date=2019-08-05|title=The Two Largest Gold Coins Ever Minted|url=https://www.govmint.com/coin-authority/post/the-two-largest-gold-coins-ever-minted-|url-status=live|access-date=2021-05-28|website=www.govmint.com|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201022063305/https://www.govmint.com/coin-authority/post/the-two-largest-gold-coins-ever-minted- |archive-date=2020-10-22 }}
Description
A Big Maple Leaf measures {{convert|2.8|cm|in}} thick and {{convert|50|cm|in}} in diameter and is 999.99/1000 pure. The obverse of the BML shows Queen Elizabeth II as she has appeared on Canadian coinage {{As of|since=yes|lc=yes|2003}},{{cite web|url=http://www.numismaster.com/ta/numis/Article.jsp?ArticleId=28088|title=Elizabeth II reaches reign milestone|website=numismaster.com|access-date=2 April 2017|date=11 September 2015|first=Kerry|last=Rodgers}} when Susanna Blunt's design became the third iteration of the queen's effigy to appear on coinage (the others were 1965 and 1990). Blunt's design was intended to show the queen 'in maturing dignity', without a tiara or crown, (only one other RCM design ever had the monarch not wearing a crown).{{cite web|url=http://www.coinweek.com/coins/coin-profiles/world-coins-coin-profiles/canada-2016-100th-anniversary-womens-right-vote-1-coin/|title=Canada 2016 100th Anniversary Women's Right to Vote $1 Coin|access-date=2 April 2017|website=coinweek.com|date=24 March 2016}} The reverse design is the stylized maple leaf by RCM artist and senior engraver Stan Witten.{{cite web|url=http://www.mint.ca/store/mint/about-the-mint/million-dollar-coin-1600006#.WOCbV_J872Y|title=The Million Dollar Coin – a true milestone in minting|website=mint.ca|access-date=2 April 2017}}{{cite web|url=https://www.usatoday.com/videos/news/world/2017/03/28/thieves-nab-221-pound-gold-coin-german-museum/99722222/#|title=Thieves nab 221-pound gold coin from German museum|website=USA Today|date=27 March 2017|access-date=28 March 2017}}
Theft of one coin
In the early hours of 27 March 2017, a Big Maple Leaf was stolen from the Münzkabinett (coin cabinet) of the Bode Museum in Berlin, Germany.{{cite web|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/cdn-coin-berlin-stolen-1.4042325|title=Massive $1M gold coin from Canadian Mint stolen in Berlin|website=cbc.ca/news|date=27 March 2017|access-date=27 March 2017}} The cabinet is known for its huge collection of coins – more than 500,000 pieces, among them more than 100,000 Greek and 50,000 Roman ones – though only a fraction of these coins are shown at exhibits.
The coin was lent to the Bode Museum in 2010 by private owner Boris Fuchsmann,{{Cite web|url=https://www.wz.de/nrw/duesseldorf/duesseldorfer-will-vier-millionen-fuer-goldmuenze-aus-dem-bode-museum_aid-49110907|title=Düsseldorfer will vier Millionen für Goldmünze aus dem Bode-Museum|first=Westdeutsche|last=Zeitung|website=Westdeutsche Zeitung|date=21 February 2020 }} and was displayed there until it was stolen.{{Cite web|url=http://p.dw.com/p/2gN9m|title=Berlin police make arrests over giant gold coin theft|date=2017-07-12|website=Deutsche Welle|language=en|access-date=2018-04-10}}
In July 2017, police raids took place and arrests were made in connection with the theft. The suspects come from a family clan from Lebanon notorious for organised crime. Berlin Police assume that the coin was damaged during the theft when it was dropped from the train tracks onto the street.
In January 2019, a trial in a juvenile court against four suspects began. Two brothers, Ahmed and Wayci Remmo, and their cousin Wissam Remmo, all belonged to a Berlin crime family of Lebanese origin known to local police as the {{ILL|Remmo-Clan|de}}.{{Cite web|title=The Canadian "Big Maple Leaf" Heist: Are Your Assumptions Hurting Security?|url=https://ctcintl.com/the-canadian-big-maple-leaf-heist-are-your-assumptions-hurting-security/|website=CTC International Group|language=en-US|access-date=2020-05-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200924082011/https://ctcintl.com/the-canadian-big-maple-leaf-heist-are-your-assumptions-hurting-security/|archive-date=September 24, 2020}} The fourth person, Denis W., was a school friend of the Remmo's and an employee of the Bode Museum. Denis was found guilty of advising the others on the museum's safety protocols. The trial ended in February 2020 with Ahmed and Wissam being sentenced to {{frac|4|1|2}} years and Denis being sentenced to 3 years 4 months, the lenient sentencing being a result of them being relatively young (Ahmed and Wissam having been 18 and 20, respectively) during the crime. The fourth defendant, Wayci Remmo was acquitted due to inconclusive evidence.{{cite news|url=https://news.artnet.com/art-world/berlin-coin-theft-1783515|title=The Bumbling Thieves Who Stole an Enormous $4.3 Million Gold Coin From a Berlin Museum—and Probably Melted It Down—Are Heading to Prison|date=February 21, 2020|newspaper=Artnet News}} The judge ordered the seizure of 3.4 million Euros from the defendants.{{Cite web|last=Ramm|first=Wiebke|date=2020-02-20|title=Berlin - Urteil im Goldmünzenprozess: "Coup des Lebens"|url=https://www.spiegel.de/panorama/justiz/urteil-im-goldmuenzenprozess-in-berlin-coup-des-lebens-a-5195c69e-9423-4145-8459-98f44744c6be|url-status=live|access-date=2021-05-28|website=www.spiegel.de|language=de|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200220204258/https://www.spiegel.de/panorama/justiz/urteil-im-goldmuenzenprozess-in-berlin-coup-des-lebens-a-5195c69e-9423-4145-8459-98f44744c6be |archive-date=2020-02-20 }}
Fuchsmann's insurance paid only 20% of the coin's value, arguing that negligence by the museum was to blame for the loss. After a lawsuit, the insurance company was ordered to pay 50% of the value.{{Cite web|last=Mayer|first=Verena|date=2021-05-26|title=Berliner Bode-Museum: 2,1 Millionen Euro für die gestohlene Goldmünze|url=https://www.sueddeutsche.de/panorama/goldmuenze-bode-museum-berlin-gericht-urteil-1.5304608|url-status=live|website=Süddeutsche.de|language=de|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210526120925/https://www.sueddeutsche.de/panorama/goldmuenze-bode-museum-berlin-gericht-urteil-1.5304608 |archive-date=2021-05-26 }}
The whereabouts of the gold coin remain unknown.{{Cite news |date=January 10, 2019 |title=Giant gold coin trial opens in Berlin |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-46821706}} Investigators do not expect to recover the coin as they found highly pure gold dust matching the Big Maple Leaf on seized clothing and a car, and suspect the robbers may have melted the coin down and sold the gold.{{Cite web |last=Oltermann |first=Philip |date=2017-07-12 |title=German police make arrests over €4m gold coin heist |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jul/12/german-police-make-arrests-over-4m-gold-coin-heist |access-date=2018-04-10 |website=The Guardian |language=en}}{{Cite news |date=2017-07-27 |title=Big Maple Leaf: Goldstaub gefunden – Münze aus dem Bode-Museum wohl zerstört |language=de-DE |trans-title=Big Maple Leaf: gold dust found – coin from the Bode Museum likely destroyed |work=Berliner Zeitung |url=https://www.berliner-zeitung.de/berlin/polizei/big-maple-leaf-goldstaub-gefunden---muenze-aus-dem-bode-museum-wohl-zerstoert-28077184 |access-date=2018-04-10}}
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